Pieces of Gold
by Lucinda
Summary: drabbles in response to a challenge.
1. Bootstrap Bill

author: Lucinda  
  
rating: pg13?  
  
disclaimer: I hold no legal rights to the characters or concepts from Pirates of the Carribean.  
  
distribution: please ask first.  
  
note: a drabble.  
  
The iron shackles should have bit into his wrists, should have ripped and tore at his flesh. But the jeering and cursing of the crew was real enough, stung deep into Bill's heart. At least, into whatever was left of one. He stood at the end of the plank, staring back at the assortment of people gathered on the deck, sunlight gleaming on knives and the beads on the ends of the braids of the huge black man.  
  
"You shouldn't be saying such nasty things about yer crew, Bootstrap Bill." Barbossa's voice carried across the water, his beard falling over a deep red velvet coat.  
  
Closing his eyes, he remembered. Remembered how Barbossa had stolen the ship from Captain Sparrow, how they'd left Sparrow on an island and gone on to take the treasure. How the gold in the carved stone box had gleamed, beckoning them in a way that he couldn't describe. Remembered the way they'd gradually discovered that things had changed.  
  
They'd been cursed.  
  
"We did wrong, Barbossa. 'Tis the truth." He looked at the man who'd gotten them into this. Would things have been different under Captain Sparrow? Too late now to ever know…  
  
Growling in fury, Barbossa lifted up the end of the plank, dropping Bill into the ocean's depths. The salty water closed over him, the iron dragging him downwards.  
  
end PotC - Bill drabble. 


	2. Will Turner

author: Lucinda  
  
rating: pg13?  
  
disclaimer: I hold no legal rights to the charcters or concepts from Pirates of the Carribean.  
  
distribution: please ask first.  
  
note: a drabble.  
  
He was dreaming again. Dreaming of something that he knew he wouldn't remember when he awoke. Once again a small boy, Will crouched on a wooden deck that heaved and tossed beneath him, smelled the smoke and salt and something rotting.  
  
The ship was burning.  
  
He looked up, seeing a man that had once visited with his father, a huge man with brown skin and long tiny braids, his teeth filed to sharp points. Elsewhere, a monkey was tugging at the golden ring that adorned the hand of the ship's captain, that worthy's head having been split down the middle.  
  
"Where is the coin?" A deep voice bellowed, angry, demanding. "We must have it!"  
  
"The coin should be with the child." The dark man spoke, his voice accented with a language he'd never learned the name of.  
  
"Find it! Find the brat, find the coin! I've had enough o' this." The large man reached down, lifting the monkey to his shoulder.  
  
Gasping for breath, Will Turner sat up in his bed, sweat beading over his face. One hand went to his throat, reaching for the coin that his father had given him. Where was the coin? He'd lost it when he'd come here, those years ago.   
  
end PotC - Will Turner drabble. 


	3. Darla's Last Night

author: Lucinda  
  
rating: pg13  
  
disclaimer: I hold no legal rights to the charcters or concepts from Pirates of the Carribean. I don't own Darla - she's from Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  
  
distribution: please ask first.  
  
note: almost a drabble. This one's a crossover.  
  
Darla coughed into the night, her lungs aching. She could feel the fever burning in her, eating away at her body. She couldn't afford that, couldn't afford to loose her beauty. Without her looks, she'd soon become yet another cheap whore. She'd rather remain an expensive one, thank you very much.  
  
As she coughed again, one hand clutched at the necklace that she'd made. It held a gleaming golden coin, with a skull surrounded by strange shapes. Very exotic looking, and a nice, heavy weight of solid gold.  
  
One of her customers had given it to her, a pirate from the southern waters. He'd been a large man, with a thick beard and expensive clothing, the captain of the Black Pearl. She remembered Barbossa quite well… the man had seemed almost insatiable.  
  
Footsteps echoed in the darkness, and Darla looked up into the street. The clouds blocked the moonlight, hiding his face, but she thought the figure looked familiar. "Barbossa?"  
  
"Darla, wasn't it?" His voice sounded different. "There is a matter of a coin…"  
  
The clouds parted, revealing that Barbossa wasn't so handsome now, withered flesh over exposed bones. Her fever was forgotten as a deep chill swept through her. She lifted the coin from her neck, handing it to the man, wondering what had happened.  
  
That night, as the man she thought was the devil claimed her for eternal night, she wondered if she would meet Barbossa again. Maybe in hell.  
  
End Darla's Last Night. 


	4. CurseBreakers

author: Lucinda  
  
rating: pg13  
  
disclaimer: I hold no legal rights to the characters or concepts from Pirates of the Carribean. I don't own the goblin of Gringott's, that concept belongs to J K Rowling.  
  
distribution: please ask first.  
  
note: almost a drabble. This one's a crossover.  
  
"Can you break the spell? I mean, that's what you do, break curses on gold, right?" He shifted uneasily, feeling nervous.  
  
The goblin looked at him, beedy eyes gazing across a long nose, thin lips pulled from jagged yellow teeth in what might have been a smile or a sneer. "The curse on this coin… it is very powerful. It was also cast on more than one simple coin. If we had all of the coins, it could be done. But not for just one coin. How many did you say there were?"  
  
"Eight hundred eighty two of them, all together. And some… we don't have them all." He could feel his hopes shattering.  
  
"I'm afraid that Gringott's can't help you then." The goblin made a small bobbing gesture as it returned the gleaming coin, before vanishing into the dark tunnel.  
  
end Curse-Breakers. 


	5. Xander the Pirate

author: Lucinda  
  
rating: pg13  
  
disclaimer: I hold no legal rights to the characters or concepts from Pirates of the Carribean. I don't own Xander or Anya - they're from Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  
  
distribution: please ask first.  
  
note: almost a drabble. This one's a crossover.  
  
Xander tossed on the bed, trying to sleep. Pain and ugly dreams kept him awake, he hadn't been able to get a decent night of sleep since his eye had been torn from it's socket by that evil guy. He looked like a pirate now, all shaggy hair and the eye patch…  
  
He could smell the salt air, and a mingling of fish and rum. He could almost make out a shape in the shadows, some bizarre man with eyeliner and bright baubles in his hair, a bottle of rum in hand.  
  
"They took my ship. If a man can't have his ship, what's the point? I don't ask for that much…" His eyes caught on something to the side, and his whole body swayed as he looked at the buxom tavern wench. "Hello, luv."  
  
The wench promptly slapped him across the face.  
  
"I deserved that, I suppose…" He swayed even more as he shook his head. "Sail with me, help me get my ship back."  
  
"Tell me, Sparrow, why should I sail with you, and what's this ships name anyhow?" Xander looked at him, a part of him wondering if that other buxom girl with tankards of beer looked like Anya or not.  
  
"That's Captain Sparrow… always forgetting the captain part…" The words slurred just a little.  
  
End Xander the Pirate. 


	6. Contracting Out

author: Lucinda  
  
rating: pg13  
  
disclaimer: I hold no legal rights to the characters or concepts from Pirates of the Carribean. I don't own Xander or Anya - they're from Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  
  
distribution: please ask first.  
  
note: almost a drabble. This one's a crossover.  
  
"You could contract out." Anya's voice was thoughtful as she looked at Xander, considering how they could raise money for the wedding.  
  
"Contract out?" Xander looked at her. "I'm a carpenter. How much could I contract?"  
  
"Well, Halfrek and I did once. It was for some Aztecs… a curse on a chest of gold." Anya had that wistful tone again.  
  
"What sort of curse?" Xander asked, half afraid of the answer.  
  
"Oh, it was quite a doozie. A living death curse, not vampires, more like skeletons. We got Cortez and his men, and a pirate crew, and… oh it was great work."  
  
Xander just shuddered.  
  
end Contracting. 


End file.
